Unit IIII

Often, the elderly can feel as though they are stagnant. This is a term called "compression of mobility". People who experience compression of mobility are unable to do the things they want to do, because their body simply does not allow for it.
Of all the readings this unit, I was most interested in Meika Loe's, "Doing it my way: old women, technology, and wellbeing."  This article broke the stigma I had about old ladies being stuck in their ways. The reality is that most old women embrace technology, and utilize it in many ways. Just the other day, my nana was talking about her Facebook. Well, I didn't know that she had a Facebook - but the information was additional confirmation that older ladies are using technology and social media more and more. She told me that mainly, she looks at the photographs my brothers upload, who both live across the country.
I was also very interested to learn about Dan Buettner and his formula for longevity. Buettner partnered with National Geographic and hired a team of longevity researchers to identify sites around the world where people lived better, and subsequently, longer. In these pockets, inhabitants live to age 100 at a rate that is 10 times greater than in the United States. The Blue Zone claim is: “by improving their lifestyle, people can look and feel better at every age, and add 12 years to their life expectancy.” Buettner concludes that a big factor in longevity is personal happiness; happy people live better lives, and they live longer lives. Some other factors include a healthy diet, exercise, a low-stress lifestyle or participating in activities that reduce stress, an awareness of a life purpose, a loving community, a loving family, etc. I'm sure the list could go on and on. I have noticed a subtle shift in health awareness in our nation over the past ten years. Generally, people are trying to eat better and exercise more frequently. We are more aware of high-fructose corn syrup, GMOs and hydrogenated oils. Some distributors are requiring food packaging to alert buyers if the product contains GMOs. Additionally, some companies now offer employees exercise and nutrition programs.
I do not think that it is any coincidence the people in these blue zones are living longer. With all of this new information buzzing about in my mind, I took the “True Happiness Compass” and “Vitality Compass” tests. My results weren’t bad! For the “Vitality Compass” test, my life expectancy was 93.6 years of age, with 76.9 healthy years – free of cancer, heart disease & diabetes. Due to my habits, my life has accrued 12.7 years. It was a little scary looking at hard numbers that predicted how many years I have to live on this earth. I am, although, very interested in Buettner’s suggestions for vitality.  I got an “A” for my True Happiness Grade– well good, I feel quite happy and I wasn’t ready for this test to tell me otherwise! “You feel competent, independent and have good relationships with friends. Your positive attitude reflects your desire and ability to thrive on a day-to-day basis. The result page gave me two personalized recommendations to continue to find happiness in my everyday life. It suggested that I hang out with happy people and see the sun. I fully agree with both of these recommendations. My mood is dramatically affected depending upon the attitudes of others around me. Sometimes, I call people “emotional vampires” (not to their face), because they seem to just suck any happy emotion right out of me, with their negative outlook on life. I wish I was better protected from these emotional vampires. Lately, I have been working on keeping my “emotional defenses” up, so that I can maintain my state of happiness even around the people who suck it out of me. Perhaps I should try a garlic garland? The second recommendation to “see the sun” was another fitting reminder for me.  The text informed me that sunlight prompts the body to manufacture endorphins that give you a happy feeling, similar to a runner’s high. I believe that the amount of sunlight I see in a day plays a big role in my mood. Consequently, I’m not exactly the merriest version of myself in the dark days of winter. According to these tests, I should be aging gracefully...we'll see!


Loe's article reminded me of this YouTube gem: http://m.youtube.com/watch?
v=M95CAeiOPtE , while relatively unrelated - it's pretty adorable.